Of Nobles and Royalty
by CometCloud
Summary: [Tales of the Abyss] AU. Luke fon Fabre has been living life peacefully in Kimlasca. But the arrival of a much respected person of the whole country changes everything, even himself.


**Of Nobles and Royalty**

AN: Hey there! Here's a new fanfic based on ToA! This is sorta AU, so I hope you won't get angry! This is a LukexTear fic, with a few hints of other fan pairings. Anyway, read on!

* * *

Chapter 1: Meeting With a Stranger 

And there he was again, young aristocrat Luke fone Fabre, staring out his bedroom window, awaiting a little bit of excitement to come his way. Sadly, none came as he found himself slowly getting wet by the arrival of sudden rain. Disgusted, he moved away and threw himself upon his fluffy bed.

There were a lot of things that would have kept his mind away from the inevitable boredom of living life in royalty. He could have visited Natalia and teased the hell out of her. He could have gone to Guy and ordered a bunch of women to attack him and make fun of his gynophobia. He could have gone to Jade and see what the hell he was doing in his laboratory. He could have gone to little Anise and ask her to have Tokunaga attack someone for fun.

But no... No, no, no, no. Not today. Today, he was not permitted to step out of his room. He was not allowed to do anything fun. If he did, he would get into ultimate trouble with his father, Duke Fabre, and he would have to face quite a number of consequences.

But why, you ask? Even Luke himself wanted to know the answer to that. He complained again and again. Why was his twin Asch allowed to roam around the manor and him have to stay put in his room? That was simply not fair, and Asch was being a sarcastic bastard about it, as well, visiting Luke's room often to show him a smirk of conceit. Sometimes, his twin just really pisses him off.

"Man, I wanna get out of here..." he sighed as he stood up from his bed and approached the window again. A smile crept up his face. "Heh. Why don't I just escape through the window like Guy usually does?" he said to himself.

Right away, he started to climb out the window, bringing with him his sword for no apparent reason. He landed on the grassy ground with a soft "Thud", and congratulated himself for a job well done.

His joy was cut short when he felt cold steel against his neck. "Che," he said. It looked like he was caught.

"Knew you were gonna get out that way," said a familiar voice.

"Guy!" he said, turning around. Guy shrugged and withrew his blade. "Sorry, Luke. But get back in there. Duke's orders."

"Hey, you're my servant too." Luke grumbled.

"Says you." Guy laughed. "You're the son of my master."

"Che."

"Anyway, get back in there." Guy said, pushing his back towards the window. "If they see you out here, I'll be fired, or something."

"Fine, fine," Luke sighed, holding his hands up. "But could you at least tell me why I'm being cooped up in my room all of the sudden?"

Guy gave him a shrug again. "How the hell am I suppose to know? I'm a servant. I follow orders, not ask about them."

With another annoyed "Che", Luke climbed back the window to his bedroom.

And a knock on the door came. Luke's face lit up. Were they going to let him out now?

"Who's there?"

"It's me, dolt."

Luke gave another "Che" again. He was annoyed to hear Asch's almost-identical-to-his-voice. Luke was pretty sure that he was just coming in to annoy him again, and chose not to unlock the door.

"Go away!" he yelled, throwing himself on to his bed, covering his head with the pillows.

"Aw, c'mon. You mad at me or something?" Asch called out through the door.

"You heard me, go away!" Luke repeated. He could hear Asch heave a sigh outside.

"And to think I was going to tell you the reason why you're being held captive in your own room. Really, you should be a little more grateful to your older brother." Asch said, obvious sarcasm in his voice.

But it did work, for Luke suddenly unlocked the door and let him in.

"You're just older than me by a few minutes. Don't get all cocky with it." Luke said as a greeting. "So why am I being kept in here?"

Asch gave him that conceited smirk once again, and for a minute there, Luke almost regretted letting him in to the room. But he changed his mind when Asch said something weird.

"Let's just say you're one lucky bastard," was all he said to him.

"What...?"

"I have to go," Asch said, turning to leave. Luke held his arm to stop him.

"What do you mean, 'lucky'?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

* * *

"Master Luke, may I come in?" 

Luke's face lit up at the sound of one of the maids' voices. "Finally!" he exclaimed.

As soon as he let her enter, she made a low bow and said, "I'm so sorry for forcing you to stay in your room."

"You should be!" Luke yelled, loud enough to portray his annoyance, but low enough for anyone to not hear. He did not really want to embarass her or anything. "So am I allowed to leave now?"

"Yes, but first..." The girl turned around and yelled, "Bring it in!" At once, another maid came in, carrying in her arms an elaborate piece of royal clothing. Luke gave a whistle at the sight of it. He was never really a fan of trendy clothes, but this one just takes the cake! It was of blue and yellow hue, perfectly giving the aura of royalty. With it came a nice pair of boots, and a bracelet made of pure gold and a bunch of gems. It really was a sight to behold.

"Woah, are you telling me to wear this or something?" he asked, still eyeing its excellent craftsmanship.

"Yes, you have to," the maid replied. "Those were Lady Sussane's orders."

"Fine then."

"Please head on to dinner once you're ready."

"Yeah, yeah, dismissed!" Luke commanded. The two maids gave a low bow and left Luke alone, still admiring the clothes he was being asked to wear.

"Man, these look so cool!" he said as he started to undress.

* * *

One last look in the mirror, and Luke set off to dinner. Man, I look cool today!, he kept saying to himself. It was hard to admit, but he did look quite ravishing that day. He really wanted to have someone see him and praise his looks, but for some unknown reason, the manor was seemed to be deserted. 

"Don't tell me everyone's eating dinner together... No way!" he said, walking faster towards the dining room. He really did want to show everyone how he looked. He was almost there, but stopped as he tripped over something, and fell face first on the hard marble floor. He should have felt a lot of pain after falling, but something he fell on cushioned the impact. Something soft and... fragrant?

"Ow..." he heard someone under him say. He looked down to find himself directly on top of someone. Some girl. He blinked back at her. Long auburn hair, and a somewhat beautiful face. Whoever she was, this was the first time Luke saw her in the manor. She wore an elegant white dress, showing that she too was also of royalty. It was obvious that she wasn't a servant or a maid, so Luke tried to be cautious with his words.

"Are you... alright?" he asked softly.

"Yes, I am," the girl replied, staring up at him. She has a nice voice, Luke thought.

"Um, would you mind getting off of me, please?"

"Wha-?" Luke scrambled to get off of her, his face red as he realized the position they were in. "F-forgive me."

"It's no trouble at all," the girl replied, sitting up. She sounded sincere, but her face, especially her eyes, said otherwise. "I apologize myself for not looking where I was going."

"Uh, yeah..."

The girl stood up, patted her dress and turned her back on him. She apparently had no intention of staying to chat.

"Wait!" he said suddenly, grabbing her by the arm. She turned back, a slightly suprised expression on her face.

"Yes...?"

"Your name?"

"What?"

"I asked you your name," Luke repeated, growing a little impatient. Couldn't she just make things easier for the both of them?

"There's no need," she bluntly replied. "We'll be introduced to each other soon enough."

"But-"

Luke was cut short when the young girl placed her fingers upon his lips, stopping him from what he was about to say. Whatever it was, she probrably knew it anyway.

"Mystearica," she said, showing him a smile. "Now, let us go to dinner," she said, taking her hand away.

Luke stood there, at a loss for words as the girl disappeared into the dark hallways. He couldn't believe it, but he had just been rendered speechless by a stranger, only with a plain smile, a smile he thought was absolutely beautiful. Before he knew it, his face had already turned red.

And it became even redder as he realized that the very soft landing that saved him before was caused by the girl's rather prominent chest...

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End of chappie 1 


End file.
